The Grand Railway Collaboration (GRC) officially opened its new Collaboration Hub on the 10th October at Birmingham New Street station.

Malcolm Holmes, Executive Director of West Midlands Rail Executive and John Robson, CrossCountry‘s Regional Director West Midlands and North West had the concept of the space. They also had string support from the wider membership of the GRC.

The concept aimed to provide a dedicated location for GRC members and other groups and charities.

Discussions about support and future plans can be held in the neutral environment.

Network Rail Central Route have showed their support of the space by providing the unit at the station and fitting it with chairs, tables, kitchenette, a screen and a toilet.

Malcolm Holmes, Executive Director, West Midlands Rail Executive, said: “It is a fantastic space which is perfect for bringing colleagues from across the industry together, collaborating to make the railway better for passengers. I’m very grateful to all involved for their help in making this happen.”

John Robson, CrossCountry’s Regional Director West Midlands and North West, said: “The shared hub was important in bringing everyone together. My thanks go out to all those that supported the idea and in particular Network Rail Central for providing us with the space.”

Steven Ireland, head of stations, security and customer relationship management for Network Rail’s Central Route, said: “It’s great that we can take advantage of this unused space at Birmingham New Street, especially when it can be utilised for the benefit of colleagues across the industry. I’m looking forward to bumping into industry colleagues using the Hub, and I can’t wait to see what sort of cross-industry collaboration the new co-working area leads us to, as we strive to achieve great things within Central Route and the West Midlands.”